I just got back from Mitel's customer/analyst conference this morning, and have not been able to blog until now. I've got a backlog of things to post, but this one has to be first. I got wind of this late yesterday - Las Vegas time - but wasn't able to post about it until now. This may well be the first you've heard about this story.
Basically, Mitel is suing Shoretel big time for patent infringement, and the news hit the wires late yesterday.
In the enterprise telephony vendor space, this is a big one. There's not much detail in the press release - no surprise there - but there's been some difficult history between these companies, and it looks like Mitel has strategically timed this release in advance of Shoretel's planned IPO.
Seems very similar to the tacks a number of service provider threw in the road just around Vonage's ill-fated IPO last year. It's another example of how tough it is to go public these days, and it's too early to know if Shoretel was blindsided here, or just felt these patents would never be an issue. More to come, for sure....
Technorati tags: Mitel, Jon Arnold, Shoretel
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Teen Tech Review - LG Fusic Phone
On this week's Teen Tech Review, Max and I discuss the LG Fusic cell phone. Of course, Max does most of the showing and telling, and he draws some nice comparisons to other phones he's been using, mainly from Nokia.
This is supposed to be a weekly series, and we missed last week because Max is studying for exams! Next week I'm away, but after that, we should be back to our weekly schedule.
Now that I've developed a "workaround", anybody reading my blog will be able to view this videocast. As you may know, this series of videocasts is being produced by me, and broadcast on BlogTV.ca.
If you're based in Canada, you can go direct to their site, and view it there. You can find Teen Tech Reviews on the Techno-Gadgets channel. To reiterate from previous posts. BlogTV.ca is a hybrid between TV and videoblogging. It's like TV in the sense that there are channels where you can view content for a variety of topics. It's also like TV because our broadcasts are live, but then archived for future viewing.
At any given time of the day, then, there are several live video feeds, and you can have a lot of fun playing voyeur, and drop in on all these virtual fishbowls that people seem to enjoy living in. I'm way too old for that, but I can certainly see how lots of people are very comfortable doing that.
So, for those of you in Canada, you can view this week's review here. From there it's not hard to access our other reviews, as well as explore the rest of BlogTV.ca.
For those of you outside of Canada, this link will not likely work, since BlogTV.ca can only be accessed domestically. They have their reasons for doing this, and one could view this as a net neutrality issue, I suppose. However, I think I'm the only one producing content for them that has this problem, so I don't see their policy changing any time soon. Pretty much everyone else there is producing content for their own entertainment, and aren't concerned about reaching a global audience. After all, this is really about social networking, and not being on FOX or the CBC.
Anyhow, if you can't open that link, you can watch our review here, via this embedded URL. It runs about 9 minutes - hope you like it!
Technorati tags: LG Fusic, Jon Arnold, Max Arnold, BlogTV.ca, Teen Tech Reviews
This is supposed to be a weekly series, and we missed last week because Max is studying for exams! Next week I'm away, but after that, we should be back to our weekly schedule.
Now that I've developed a "workaround", anybody reading my blog will be able to view this videocast. As you may know, this series of videocasts is being produced by me, and broadcast on BlogTV.ca.
If you're based in Canada, you can go direct to their site, and view it there. You can find Teen Tech Reviews on the Techno-Gadgets channel. To reiterate from previous posts. BlogTV.ca is a hybrid between TV and videoblogging. It's like TV in the sense that there are channels where you can view content for a variety of topics. It's also like TV because our broadcasts are live, but then archived for future viewing.
At any given time of the day, then, there are several live video feeds, and you can have a lot of fun playing voyeur, and drop in on all these virtual fishbowls that people seem to enjoy living in. I'm way too old for that, but I can certainly see how lots of people are very comfortable doing that.
So, for those of you in Canada, you can view this week's review here. From there it's not hard to access our other reviews, as well as explore the rest of BlogTV.ca.
For those of you outside of Canada, this link will not likely work, since BlogTV.ca can only be accessed domestically. They have their reasons for doing this, and one could view this as a net neutrality issue, I suppose. However, I think I'm the only one producing content for them that has this problem, so I don't see their policy changing any time soon. Pretty much everyone else there is producing content for their own entertainment, and aren't concerned about reaching a global audience. After all, this is really about social networking, and not being on FOX or the CBC.
Anyhow, if you can't open that link, you can watch our review here, via this embedded URL. It runs about 9 minutes - hope you like it!
Technorati tags: LG Fusic, Jon Arnold, Max Arnold, BlogTV.ca, Teen Tech Reviews
Canadian IP Thought Leaders Series - New Media, with MyThum Interactive and Deloitte
On this week's podcast, the focus was Canada's New Media community. I've never had 3 guests on together before, but somehow, we made it work. This podcast was a follow up to my coverage of the Canadian New Media Awards held last month in Toronto, and I wanted to do something with the Company of the Year winner. So, one of my guests was Michael Carter, President and CEO of MyThum Interactive, and we talked about what winning this award has meant for the company.
Joining us was Gary Gluckman and Richard Lee, both from the Toronto office of Deloitte, where they are key leaders of their Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice. Deloitte has been on previous podcasts of mine, talking about their Fast 50 and Fast 500 programs, but this was the first time we talked about their involvement in the new media space. Deloitte is a major sponsor of the CNMA, and Gary and Richard shared their views on the new media space in Canada, along with the winning qualities they saw in MyThum.
You can download the podcast here, as well as read more about Gary, Richard and Michael.
Technorati tags: MyThum Interactive, Jon Arnold, VoIP podcasts, Deloitte,
Canadian New Media Awards
Joining us was Gary Gluckman and Richard Lee, both from the Toronto office of Deloitte, where they are key leaders of their Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice. Deloitte has been on previous podcasts of mine, talking about their Fast 50 and Fast 500 programs, but this was the first time we talked about their involvement in the new media space. Deloitte is a major sponsor of the CNMA, and Gary and Richard shared their views on the new media space in Canada, along with the winning qualities they saw in MyThum.
You can download the podcast here, as well as read more about Gary, Richard and Michael.
Technorati tags: MyThum Interactive, Jon Arnold, VoIP podcasts, Deloitte,
Canadian New Media Awards
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Video Calling - Ready for Prime Time - But is Verizon?
One more quick entry for today. SightSpeed CEO/fellow blogger Peter Csathy has brought this story to my attention. It may not be news to many of you, but it's still worth noting. Peter cites a WSJ story about a new service launched yesterday from AT&T called VideoShare. While not the first to do this, it's a huge validation for person-to-person mobile video calling, and as Peter notes on his blog, it opens up huge opportunities for creative applications.
Peter and his company, SightSpeed, are major advocates of video, and this is great news for companies like his. Video calling has always been slow to take root for all kinds of reasons, but people seem to be far less inhibited on their cell phones, and in some ways, video is really a natural extension of a voice call for mobile users. As Peter suggests, it won't take long for businesses come up with all kinds of applications that will totally make sense. An example he cites is for real estate agents, who can show their clients listings in real time when they're somewhere else. Couldn't agree more!
Peter also brings up the inevitable iPhone question. They won't be supporting video calling in the initial launch, but if uptake is slower than expected - and there are all kinds of reasons for this to happen - you can bet that would change. Video calling will sure have a cool factor for a large segment of the market, and it could turn out to be a great value-add to compete against Verizon, who will be doing whatever they can to retain subscribers lured by the allure of the iPhone. I suspect we'll find out how cool video calling will be when the iPhone era officially kicks off.
Technorati tags: iPhone, Jon Arnold, Peter Csathy, AT&T, SightSpeed
Peter and his company, SightSpeed, are major advocates of video, and this is great news for companies like his. Video calling has always been slow to take root for all kinds of reasons, but people seem to be far less inhibited on their cell phones, and in some ways, video is really a natural extension of a voice call for mobile users. As Peter suggests, it won't take long for businesses come up with all kinds of applications that will totally make sense. An example he cites is for real estate agents, who can show their clients listings in real time when they're somewhere else. Couldn't agree more!
Peter also brings up the inevitable iPhone question. They won't be supporting video calling in the initial launch, but if uptake is slower than expected - and there are all kinds of reasons for this to happen - you can bet that would change. Video calling will sure have a cool factor for a large segment of the market, and it could turn out to be a great value-add to compete against Verizon, who will be doing whatever they can to retain subscribers lured by the allure of the iPhone. I suspect we'll find out how cool video calling will be when the iPhone era officially kicks off.
Technorati tags: iPhone, Jon Arnold, Peter Csathy, AT&T, SightSpeed
iPhone UI Simulator
Been running all day, and I just wanted to quickly bring attention to a really neat post from colleague Thomas Howe. It's a fun look on how various Web 2.0 UIs would look on the iPhone, due to hit the market next week. If you're a fan of the iPhone... or iPhoney, give this a look!
Technorati tags: iPhone, Jon Arnold, Thomas Howe
Technorati tags: iPhone, Jon Arnold, Thomas Howe
Bell/Telus Merger - See Me on CBC News Tonight - Twice!
The latest wrinkle for the fate of Bell Canada is a possible - and much anticipated - merger with rival Telus. It's front page news in Canada right now, and there's a lot at stake on many levels. Not a lot of technology to talk about, but it's a story that will alter the course of Canadian telecom like nothing before - once it unfolds. Right now, there's a lot of talk and speculation, and it's being widely covered in the media and the blogs.
I haven't been commenting so far, but today I got my chance. I just finished shooting two video segments for CBC television about this story. One runs on the local CBC news at 6pm, and the second segment runs on the 6:30 broadcast right after, but on the national CBC network. So, regardless of where you live in Canada, if you're watching TV during dinner tonight, I'll be in your living room, at least for a couple of minutes! Hope you tune in.
We filmed the segments outside, which was very fitting, since it's the first day of Summer - much nicer outside than at my desk, that's for sure. My son Max just finished his last exam, and was home in time to join me, so he took a photo during our shoot. So, here's a glimpse of how TV actually gets done.....
Technorati tags: Bell Canada, Jon Arnold, CBC News, Bell Telus Merger
I haven't been commenting so far, but today I got my chance. I just finished shooting two video segments for CBC television about this story. One runs on the local CBC news at 6pm, and the second segment runs on the 6:30 broadcast right after, but on the national CBC network. So, regardless of where you live in Canada, if you're watching TV during dinner tonight, I'll be in your living room, at least for a couple of minutes! Hope you tune in.
We filmed the segments outside, which was very fitting, since it's the first day of Summer - much nicer outside than at my desk, that's for sure. My son Max just finished his last exam, and was home in time to join me, so he took a photo during our shoot. So, here's a glimpse of how TV actually gets done.....
Technorati tags: Bell Canada, Jon Arnold, CBC News, Bell Telus Merger
TSX Venture 50 - 2 Companies to Watch
Yesterday, the Globe & Mail published a report on the TSX Venture 50. This is one of Canada's key junior exchanges, and, as the article states, serves as a pretty good "farm system" for Canada's big board exchange, the TSX.
If I had just seen this article online, I wouldn't be blogging about it. However, I'm old school, and I still read the morning papers! While the articles in this report were published online, the detailed breakdown of the Top 50 was not. This too, may not have caught my eye, had I not seen a blog post about Sangoma making the Venture 50 the day before.
Colleague Ken Camp ran a press release from Sangoma's website about this, and it was great to see an American blogger pick up on this. Ken is actually a great supporter of Sangoma and several other Canadian companies, and often runs posts about things going on up here I haven't heard about. However, he couldn't possibly have seen the Globe's report, so I couldn't expect him to cite their story. As you'll see in a moment, he's sharing a good news story, but there's more to talk about in this report.
So, aside from Sangoma making the Venture 50, there was a second company on the list that has recently fallen into my orbit. It's Calgary-based Immersive Media. I just came across them recently - really interesting company, most notable being the work they do for Google. These are the guys driving up and down every street in your town, taking 360 degree photos of everything in sight for Google. Who knew - Calgary? There's a lot of good stuff going on up here, folks. I've done a few things with Sangoma already, and now I'm working on getting connected to Immersive, and I hope to do a podcast with them soon. Stay tuned.
Technorati tags: TSX Venture 50, Jon Arnold, Ken Camp, Sangoma, Immersive Media
If I had just seen this article online, I wouldn't be blogging about it. However, I'm old school, and I still read the morning papers! While the articles in this report were published online, the detailed breakdown of the Top 50 was not. This too, may not have caught my eye, had I not seen a blog post about Sangoma making the Venture 50 the day before.
Colleague Ken Camp ran a press release from Sangoma's website about this, and it was great to see an American blogger pick up on this. Ken is actually a great supporter of Sangoma and several other Canadian companies, and often runs posts about things going on up here I haven't heard about. However, he couldn't possibly have seen the Globe's report, so I couldn't expect him to cite their story. As you'll see in a moment, he's sharing a good news story, but there's more to talk about in this report.
So, aside from Sangoma making the Venture 50, there was a second company on the list that has recently fallen into my orbit. It's Calgary-based Immersive Media. I just came across them recently - really interesting company, most notable being the work they do for Google. These are the guys driving up and down every street in your town, taking 360 degree photos of everything in sight for Google. Who knew - Calgary? There's a lot of good stuff going on up here, folks. I've done a few things with Sangoma already, and now I'm working on getting connected to Immersive, and I hope to do a podcast with them soon. Stay tuned.
Technorati tags: TSX Venture 50, Jon Arnold, Ken Camp, Sangoma, Immersive Media
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